HEMP! CANNABIS!! Who Are You? Why Are You So Beneficial?

Hemp is a commonly used term for varieties of the cannabis plant and its products, which include: hempen fibres, oil from seeds, the seeds for food, a medicine and it’s narcotic properties. Hemp is refined into products like hemp seed foods, hemp oil, wax, rope, resin, cloth, pulp, paper and fuel.

It has no psychoactive effects at all unlike its close family member marijuana. There is no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found within this amazing plant. The best place to start on figuring out hemp is to learn its history of how we came about it’s many benefits.

Has over fifty thousands uses. Yes over 50,000 uses. Grows ten times faster then trees do…….

History

“Hemp is one of the most profitable productions the earth furnishes in northern climates; as it employs a great number of poor people in a very advantageous manner, if its manufacture is carried on properly: It … becomes worthy of the serious attention … of every trading man, who truly loves his country.” – Edward Antil in 1777 wrote in his introduction of observations on the raising and dressing of hemp.

Hemp has been found on every continent in this hemisphere, it was used long before it’s first recorded uses. It’s safe to believe that no historian knows which peoples were first to experience her treasures.

In every known society where people discovered Cannabis hemp, they often discovered the five uses of hemp like we discussed at the top: Hemp fibres, oil from seeds, seeds for food, a medicine and narcotic properties.

Its fair to speculate that cannabis use has existed for over ten thousand years, and is one of the oldest crops used for cultivation. It was cultivated in China as early as 4000 BC. Most cultures viewed hemp as a gift, or treasure, from the Divine Sprit, to be used during ceremonies, at which time it was either burned as incense, ingested for deep meditative and heighten awareness, smoked for pleasure, or worn for clothing during these ceremonies. Hemp has been mentioned in many important documents over its recorded history, The Zend-Avesta, a sacred book used by the peoples of India dating back to 600 BC, spoke of hemp’s intoxicating resin. The Chinese emperor and herbalist, Chen-Nung wrote about hemp’s medicinal uses 5000 years ago, his pharmacoepia recorded its effects on malaria, female disorders, and many other illnesses, hemp was referred to as, Ma-fen “hemp fruit”, said; “if taken in excess, will produce hallucinations”. The Anatomy of Melancholy, published in 1621 recommended hemp for depression. The New English Dispensatory, of 1764 suggested applying hemp roots to the skin for inflammation.

In Africa hemp was used for dysentery, and fevers, today some tribes use hemp to treat snake bites, and women smoke it before childbirth to ensure that a new born is coming into a healthy environment.

During the seventeenth century peasants believed in the magical power of hemp, and practiced their traditions. On Saint John’s Eve, farmers would pick flowers from their hemp plants and feed them to their livestock to protect the animals from evil and sickness.

A western physician by the name of W.B. O’Shaughnessey published in 1839 of the benefits of cannabis for the treatment of rabies, rheumatism, epilepsy, and tetanus. He also reported that a tincture of hemp and alcohol taken orally was found an effective painkiller.

Henry VIII required the cultivation of one quarter acre of hemp for every sixty acres of land under tillage, for maritime purposes in England. The British began cultivating hemp in its Canadian colonies in 1606, cultivation began for Virginia in 1611. The Pilgrims introduced cultivation to New England as early as 1632, they learned about the cultivation of hemp from the Native Americans peoples.

Until 1776 many colonies passed laws to encourage farmers to produce hemp, Virginia designed laws to compel farmers, fining those who did not comply. Lobbyist were hired to promote, and educate the public about the importance of hemp. Books were published that wanted to establish hemp as America’s trademark product.

The founding fathers of this nation George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith were all promoters of hemp, as noted in their farm diaries spoke of their experiences as hemp farmers. Throughout Washington’s farm diary he spoke about the quality of seeds, always taking care to sow seeds in best areas on his farm. He documented the importance’s of cultivating seeds at the proper time taking care to pull the male plants from the females. In 1790’s Washington began cultivating “Indian hemp” which he said produced the best quality of plant, and noted its superior quality to common hemp mostly grown during that time. Both Washington and Jefferson disliked tobacco, and on occasion they would exchange gifts of a smoking mixtures, Washington reportedly enjoyed smoking hemp flowers, however there is no hard evidence.

19th and 20th Century Till Now

Rudolf Diesel designed his first engine to run on a variety of vegetable oil and plant oils in the late 19th century for he believes these oils where the strongest, and most renewable sources of fuels, and Diesel frequently experimented with hemp bio diesel to fuel his engines. Forward to the 20th century in 1916 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a paper stating that one acre of hemp could produce four times the amount of paper than one acre of trees, and the hemp takes one season to grow vs the long maturity rate of using wood pulp for paper production. The USDA published an annual crop report of cannabis from late 1800’s till the early 1900’s.

By the early 20th century, industrialization, lead to inventions, of machines that would do the work of many, this was caused by the abolition of slavery. One of the most important inventions to the hemp industry was the Decorticator Machine, it was hailed as the invention to revolutionize the hemp industry. In an article from Popular Mechanics magazine dated February 1938 spoke of hemp as a cash crop soon to be worth a billion dollars. This was the first time the word BILLION was published to describe an industry.

Unfortunately its praises came one year to late, the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act HR 6385 was enacted, this required a $100 transfer tax on the sale of marihuana. The issue for those in opposition of this tax related to the underhanded manner in which this tax was enacted. Those thought to gain the most were those who owned large timber holdings which feed the paper industry. DuPont who dominated the petrochemical market, which manufactured plastics, paints, and other products of fossil fuels and the Secretary of the Treasury and owner of Gulf oil Andrew Mellon who pushed legislation through congress giving tax breaks to oil companies. (This is why the oil industry is so dominate to this day) The Conspiracy was against hemp, it threaten certain vested financial and industrial interest especially those in the paper and petrochemical industries.

As WWII progressed and Japan cut off most supply and trading lines for the US from Asia (We have found strong evidence that the good old US of A cut off Japan first so they had a reason to go to war. Touch more on this in a later blog….) the US government encouraged farmers to grow hemp. This was called the “hemp for victory” campaign designed to replace the missing supply of hemp for many needed materials during the war.

Through the Hearst newspaper chains racist propaganda messages were abound, it was Hearst that coined the phase “Marihuana Madness” this was related to Mexicans, African Americans, and jazz musicians, use of marihuana said to caused excessive sex, and violence, and threatened the safety of white women and children. Following this campaign against hemp it was not long before the complete prohibition of hemp was enacted.

Nutrition of Hemp Here and Now

Raw hemp provides a broad spectrum of health benefits, including: Weight loss, increased and sustained energy, rapid recovery from disease or injury, lowered cholesterol and blood pressure, reduced inflammation (Inflammation is the foundation for EVERY dis-ease, Thanks Robby for that tidbit of information) improvement in circulation and immune system as well as natural blood sugar control.

Losing Weight Naturally: When eating hemp regularly it reduces craving’s for food with stimulants, sugars, starches and saturated fats. There’s enough essential fats, proteins and most vitamins and other nutrients necessary for promoting good health. People report up to one pound a day.

Increased and Sustained Energy: Frequently consuming hemp most become more productive, much more energetic and less effected by stress.

Improved Digestion: Hemp hearts (shelled hemp seeds) are so easily digested that many claim hemp cures or reduces the effects of chronic problems of the digestive System.

Healthy Cholesterol Levels: When added to the diet in a whole like hemp seeds, it improves cholesterol profile. Hemp oil also contains some GLA (gamma-linolenic) that is absent from the fats we normally eat, but considered to be beneficial to health by nutritional experts.

A Natural Way to Control Blood Sugars: The first step in naturally balancing blood sugars is to introduce a high quality lean protein in our diet – the glucagon released when you eat protein helps keep insulin in check, then incorporate essential fatty acids, both found in hemp seeds.

So in summary, and this is not coming from a theoretical standpoint…… Obviously. Amazing hemp can replace the consumption of WOOD and OIL products as well as many others.

The three of us who wrote this, we all incorporate hemp into our diet in one form or another. Whether it be hemp seeds, hemp oil, hemp oil pills and drinking hemp milk right now (I get my hemp milk from Save-On-Foods)

We find local distributers of hemp through farmers markets, word of mouth and of coarse the Google machines.